Pylon Signs, Panel Saws, and Remembrance Day: Life at Leaman Signs Vlog #003
Weather, logistics, and a packed job list — Episode 003 of Life at Leaman Signs has all of it. Between site assessments at Avalon Mall, a delayed pylon delivery, a new piece of shop equipment, and a visit from their apparel supplier, it's the kind of week where nothing goes exactly as planned but everything still gets done.
Checking In on the Avalon Mall Pylons
The episode opens with a site visit to Avalon Mall, where Leaman Signs originally built three pylon signs back in 2019 — two small ones and one large one. One of the letters has taken some damage, so Rick heads out to assess the scope of the repair before committing to a plan.
The good news: it's less work than expected. The letter is still mostly intact, and a new piece of trim should be enough to sort it out. The rest of the letters are holding up well. While on site, Rick walks through some of the other work the company has done at the mall — including wall-mounted and suspended wayfinding signs throughout the interior, installed in phases over the past couple of years. It's a good reminder of how repeat client relationships build over time. Leaman Signs didn't just put up a few pylons; they've become a go-to partner for ongoing signage work at the property.
A side note from a previous visit: apparently, someone once took a hammer to four of the five letters on one of the smaller pylons and beat them up badly enough that they all had to be replaced. Vandalism is one of those occupational hazards in the sign industry that doesn't come up often, but when it does, it's a costly fix for the client.
Ferry Delays, Wind, and a Pylon That Wouldn't Fit
Wednesday brings a logistics puzzle. A transport truck carrying a pylon sign for a car dealership was supposed to arrive the previous week, but ferry closures out of Nova Scotia pushed the timeline back. Then high winds made it unsafe to offload on-site. The driver has been waiting days and needs to get back to Ontario with his next load.
The plan shifts: offload the pylon at the Leaman Signs yard instead of the job site. But when they go to transfer it onto their own flat deck trailer, the measurements don't quite work — 26 feet won't fit. So it goes straight to site on the crane truck, the dealership moves cars to make room, and the sign gets set in place on the ground until conditions are right for the full install. The pylon goes up by the end of the week. Building signage follows next week.
It's a good illustration of how much logistics coordination goes into a single installation job — and how quickly the plan has to change when a ferry closes or the wind picks up.
New Equipment and a Busy Shop Floor
Back at the shop, a used panel saw arrives — a new-to-them addition that takes some serious muscle to get through the door and into position. The description of getting it off the truck ("brute strength and ignorance") says everything. But it's in, it's level, and it opens up more capability for cutting large sheet materials in-house.
There's also a wooden pallet base being built for a temporary sign going up on Freshwater Road. The base gets weighted down with sandbags or rocks to handle wind load — a practical, low-tech solution for a temporary install in a windy city.
Team Apparel and a 44-Year-Old Business
One of the more casual moments in the episode is a visit from Shawn at Beresford Ltd, old neighbours of Leaman Signs from their time on Empire Avenue. The company is getting the team outfitted with branded apparel for the first time in a couple of years. Samples get passed around, sizing gets figured out, and the goal is to have gear ready before Christmas.
Shawn mentions Beresford is heading into their 44th year in business — a milestone worth noting. Greg, at 14 years in, jokes that someday he'll get there too.
What's Coming Up
The shop is heading into Christmas crunch mode. Rink board graphics for the Regiment at the Mary Brown’s Centre are back in for their second print run. Two crew members are heading out of town for most of the next two weeks to complete a drive-through menu board survey project. And a 24-foot pylon sign is in production — more on that when it's ready to talk about.
Subscribe to the Leaman Signs YouTube channel to follow along each week as the jobs keep coming.